The ammunition delivery of the European Union to Ukraine does not advance at the desired pace not even by the Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kulebanor by the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, who has admitted that European governments are delivering more slowly than expected and understands his Ukrainian counterpart’s urgent calls. “Minister Kuleba has raised his demands with the anguish felt by those experiencing a war. We can theorize but Ukraine is being systematically bombarded and it is normal for it to insistently and urgently ask for more and more help,” he assured after a long foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg in which he has appeared by videoconference.
Kuleba has transferred Kiev’s priorities and needs to the 27 and above all has called for the dispatch “as soon as possible” of more armed vehicles, tanks, artillery systems and ammunition as well as the training of pilots in F-16 combat aircraft. “We know that Ukraine urgently needs missiles and ammunition to defend its territory. It’s not that Russia doesn’t want to stop hostilities and neither does Ukraine. It’s that Russia doesn’t want to stop, stop the invasion and Ukraine has no choice but to continue defending itself,” he acknowledged. Borrell admitting that deliveries are not going as fast as he would like.
“Believe me that we do everything we can to meet our commitments. I cannot specify a figure, because it changes every day, but it is true that the first ‘track’, which consists of delivering part of the military ‘stock’ of the States Members have focused mainly on missiles, but the ammunition has figures that do not reach the prospects that I would like and Kuleba would like,” he explained, “estimated at a thousand missiles delivered so far to Kiev.
In Borrell’s opinion, what the 27 must do now, when Moscow prepares for a possible offensive this spring, is to “force the pace and increase deliveries”, something that will also transfer to the EU defense ministers. “All the ministers understand the urgency of Ukraine’s demand and I am going to address the defense ministers of the member states to convey the demand to speed up deliveries because the only way to counter Russian attacks is a capability that depends on our Ayuda”, he explained after a meeting marked not only by the delays in the delivery of ammunition from military reserves but also by the lack of consensus around a legal text that would enable the joint ammunition purchase plan agreed on March 20 to be activated. .
Joint purchasing plan
Related news
“There are still some disagreements but I am sure that everyone will understand that we are in a situation of extreme urgency,” he assessed upon his arrival at the meeting without going into assessing the demands of countries like Francein favor of orders for new weapons being made only to the European industry to the anger of countries like Poland, Holland, Germany or the Baltics who believe that the most important thing is to act quickly. “I am sure that in the next few days the Member States will reach a full agreement on how to make this additional demand to the industry for a value of 1,000 million,” he added at the subsequent press conference on the second measure of the plan approved by the Twenty-seven .
The first is the immediate shipment of more ammunition from the reserves of the Twenty-seven, for which the EU will dedicate 1,000 million euros. Until now, as he explained, the governments have requested the reimbursement of 600 million euros, which means that they still have room to reimburse more contributions. Borrell has also referred to calls for peace from china or brazil. “In order for them to be credible and honest, it is necessary to talk to Kiev and visit Kiev, to see the aggression through the eyes of those who are receiving bombs,” recommended the Spanish politician, who recalled that the situation is that there is an “aggressor” country. that has violated the United Nations charter and invaded a country and another that is a victim. “We cannot accept the benevolent approach because the aggressor and the aggressed cannot be put on an equal footing,” he added, advocating to speak with third countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia to counter the Russian narrative and fight against the evasion of sanctions.